2025--Making Self-Care-Exercise-Wellness…. More than a New Years Resolution ...Good Health is a State of Mind

Not surprisingly, over eighty percent of those whose #1 2025 New Years Resolution are to

….get more fit

…go back to the Gym

…eat better

…become more healthier

?

By mid- February have abandoned these goals

?

From my observations a large part of it is Our Mindset in American Culture

Something at the core of so much of the Unwellness in our Society

?

Instant Gratification – this incongruent notion that without investment, effort and time we “deserve” to achieve whatever we at that moment desire

?

Fostered – Nurtured by our Celebrity Culture – Non-Stop iPhone Entertainment and a Media that tells you that you can have it all

…all you must do is want it –in fact you are entitled to it

?

Unfortunately, this mental self-picture does not actually look like what we see in the mirror ..which makes us even more unwell

..but don’t worry we have yet another industry of Self-Help Fast Track Products that guarantee that without effort that they can achieve these results that you have no ability to do by yourself

?

My favorite commercial lately is the one for the Men’s Miracle Face Cream that promises to erase all the bags, dark circle, wrinkles from you face

The handsome guy hocking this product assures you that

….even you can have his sparkling face

… without exercise, nutrition, sleep or doing anything good for yourself

?

This is a perfect example of how we desire to short cut everything

?

I’m older ..almost seventy

Yet, I can do everything just as easily as I did at nineteen years old

Yah…I sleep a little more and do invest in resting as this is the “flex” my body tells me that it needs to be well

?

The critical element here is this Mind-Body-Spirit connection

Being “In-Tune” with your Total Self

?

I’m an enthusiastic Taoist Fan….,Lao Tzu is my go-to-guy

He tells us that “all of the answers to your every questions resides inside you”

Lao Tzu is also super naturopathic

“Doctors and Medicine are the source of sickness and death ..Wellness begins inside of you”

?

Like all those that practice Chinese Medicine

…”the food that you eat is the greatest medicine for the body”

We are what we eat

?

……the sad fact remains that the older we get, while exercise is helpful

….what you put in your mouth is far far more important

?

It all comes down to basic bodily biochemistry

We are complex machine build from many small interdependent parts

?

…the more operative each part in their functioning

…the more optimized is your total wellness

?

With this as your scaffolding framework

Crazy….but things easily fall into place

?

I know we live in this American Culture of Victimization where we desire to relinquish all responsibility

?

…there are two sad truths in wellness

#1---You are the master of your destiny

#2---Every Action you take impacts your Health

?

The Good News is that our bodies are these amazing regenerative machines that till your last breath are working overtime to center your Homeostasis

?

Discovering your Homeostatic Center is where you need to start

…it’s a unique recipe for each person

What’s good for me …possibly could kill you

?

What’s essential critical

….you MUST DO THE WORK if you wants the results

….no one or no product is going to do this better than you

?

I’m sorry…its all up to you ?-- No Victims here as this is a space of pure self empowerment

?

I meet people all the time that tell me

…You’re so lucky – then proceed onward to the genetic ego trip and how my tribe is blessed with these added value attributes …

…great skin, youthful longevity and quick mental agility

?

Wrong …it’s all ?nonstop work

?– Self-Discipline

?– Focus and Self Determination

?

Exercise

The gym is really full these days

It’s painful watching people really killing themselves “over” working out

?

Some strange notion that you must really abuse your body and in the process this “conditioning” is going to make you leaner, stronger and of course more beautiful

?

Nothing could be further from the truth

?

I’ve been daily exercising for about forty years

….my weight is about the same and never fluctuates very much

?

Hold on now

…..I never break a sweat – don’t push my body up to 180 Heart Beats

..as that doesn’t work with my body

—remember its ?your individual recipe

?

Swim- Run- Lift- Machines ….all Low and Slow

?

For Me…. Motion is Lotion – so Taoist

We were designed to have moments of Restful Stillness and Active Motion

?

For Me…Exercise is a matter of Consistency more than Intensity

?

I have crazy stamina for my age due to this conditioning

—forty minutes on the Elliptical – no big deal

People frustrate themselves here by listening to others

Listen to Your Body—Remember You’re In Charge

Step Up and take control

?

?Better to come to the gym and do fifteen minutes of lite exercise everyday than twice a week subjecting yourself to abject torture

It’s the experiential repetitive sequencing of the Mind-Body-Spirit that becomes the rhythmic energy that fuels and centers your homeostasis

?

Self-Care

In that Taoist mode …. The repetitive actions of Routines- Rituals and Regiments form more centering behavior that works in tandem with exercise

?

Nothing goes in my mouth without knowing what’s in it

Yup..every ingredient – High Fructose Corn Syrup – Bye Bye

?

This biochemical approach sets the foundation of wellness as it helps maintain if not fed a healthy gut environment

My day follows a rhythmic pattern of various teas, chocolate, cider vinegar, fish oils and lots of cooked vegetables

For me –in that Taoist Mode I consider all these things as – FUELS

Wellness substances, that as the Confucians believe fed the fire of energy inside you

–the Chi which balances the Shui and Jing in harmony

?

My family is big into skin care

…not the cheap stuff from the Dollar Store but spending the money on the best products

….. and this of course follows its own daily schedule

Its nothing Tedious or Fussy

….a little goes a long way here and makes a tremendous difference

?

Inner Life Wellness

Yes …just like the monks at the Buddhist Sholin Monastery and our Orthodox Brothers on Mount Athos

Ritual is an on-going daily narrative that coordinates with my other wellness behaviors

?

Just like these monastics we believe that

…we are not human beings living a spiritual life

..we are spiritual beings living this short portion of our human life

?

On this path we are deeply connected to ancestors, saints, angels and all sorts of immaterial energies that intersperse in and out of each activity we engage within –each day

They are an active presence of wellness- wholeness

…source of counsel

The Prophet Mohammed best described the relationship

Your Good Thought shall become Your Best Companion

?

So the place to begin is by mapping out Your Unique Wellness Plan

..Invest the Time In Yourself

…Do the Work

..Stay on the Path-Plan

…Remember it takes Time and Commitment—there’s no shortcuts

?

You’re in charge

…..Take Control

..Don’t Listen to the Noise

?

I Know you’re going to get there

?

In fact, I am rooting for you to

…. Make 2025 Your Best New Year

?

Good Luck

?

?

?

?